Trip To Canada (October 2014)
by DiaAndMarcy
Summary: Alfred surprises the girls with a trip, resulting in a few interesting conversations and a very, very long car ride.
1. Chapter 1

_Marcy_

"The hero has arrived!" Alfred yelled, emerging from the elevator.

I was surprised to see Matthew with him as well. I was suddenly aware of the fact that it was 10 o'clock and I was still in my pajamas.

"One second, Gil," I said into my headset.

"Wait, wait, wait," Alfred said, walking to the couch and looking at the screen. I was in the middle of playing Call of Duty online with Gilbert. Matthew smiled.

"Wha?" Alfred stammered, "Since when? How long has this been going on?"

"What?" I asked, a bit confused, "You mean me and Gil? We've been gaming buddies since the party."

He looked like he was going to say more, but then shook his head, "No, that's not important. Mattie's invited all three of us to stay over at his house for a couple days! So get dressed and get Dia ca-,"

"Dia's at work," I interrupted.

"Huh, I totally forgot," he scratched his head, "Ooohh, I know! Matt, you can drive Marcy up there now and I'll pick up Dia when she's done!"

"I'm game," I said. I kinda wondered how the nations lived and what their houses looked like. We both looked at Matthew.

He blushed slightly. "I mean, if you're okay without Dia…"

"Pfft," I scoffed playfully, "Dia's my best friend, but it is possible for me to exist without her constantly beside me."

"Right, sorry," Matt apologized.

I waved my hand, "Don't worry about it, I was just teasing. I- Gilbert, oh my gosh!" I burst into embarrassed laughter.

"What'd he say?" Matt asked.

I shook my head, "Nuh-uh, not repeating it. Bye, Gil." I hung up our call and closed down the Xbox. "Gimmie a second to get changed."

I walked to my room, shutting and locking the door. I dug through my winter clothes and decided on a pair of brown boots, dark jeans, the world's most comfy gray tank, a white turtleneck, and my favorite letterman jacket. I grabbed a pair of navy fingerless gloves and their matching beanie.

 _No, wait_ , I thought, _I'm going to Canada_. _It's a 'toque.'_

"Right," I said to myself, "Now for the hardest part."

I opened my scarf drawer.

I wasn't much for fashion, but come time for cold weather clothes, I had about fifty scarves for every outfit. I wasn't wearing any bright colors, so I settled on a maroon one with mixes of blues and purples here and there. Satisfied with my attire, I threw an extra set of clothes into a bag, along with other overnight necessities. I ran into Dia's room and did the same, leaving out her favorite jacket. I returned to the main room, where Alfred and Matthew had started a game waiting on me.

"You two remind me of my brothers," I chuckled.

"Holy crap, you have brothers?" Alfred asked.

It's like he expected me to not have family.

"One older brother, a younger sister and two younger brothers," I said, counting on my fingers, "My two younger brothers could never wait for anything. They'd always end up playing videogames."

"To be fair, you were in there for like, fifteen minutes," Alfred replied, "Is that how long it takes for you to do makeup?"

I burst out laughing, "No, I don't wear makeup. And I'm guessing you've never had to wait on someone who does."

Alfred shrugged, "Whatevs. Anyway, you two need to get going. We'll meet ya there!"

I threw Dia's jacket at his face. "Dia will be done at around 2ish. Let her know I packed her a bag," I said, just before realization struck. "Oh! I almost forgot!" I ran back to my room, then Dia's, and threw a small navy blue book at Alfred. He caught it effortlessly.

"We're going to a different country, duh," I said, "These are required, right Matt?"

Matthew nodded.

"Okay, cool, great," Alfred said hurriedly, "Do you have everything now?"

"I believe so," I replied with a grin.

"K, now go! Fly you fools!"

"Gandalf!" I screamed as I walked to the elevator, Matthew shaking his head and smiling behind me.

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

Living with America, you quickly learn to get used to surprises, for sanity's sake if nothing else. Getting wound up every time Alfred sprang something on you would lead to premature death, as well as encourage him to do something even more outrageous, as I was starting to discover.

However, I really did not see this one coming.

My aunt Heather was in the offices of the hospital, finalizing a big sale for a large landscape piece that would be going in the pediatric wing. I was with her, smiling pleasantly and taking mental notes of how she conducted business.

"…Thank you so much, Ms. Sterling." The secretary of the hospital's public relations shook my aunt's hand. "I'm sure the children will love the new picture!"

 _Yeah,_ I thought, _right before they attack it with crayons._

Speaking of children…

I happened to glance out the small office window, and glimpsed an all-too-familiar mop of golden blond hair and a worn brown bomber jacket, wandering around aimlessly.

I stiffened, feeling my pleasant smile fade.

 _You idiot, I TOLD you not to visit me at work!_

"Diana?" I heard my aunt's voice ask a bit too pleasantly. I looked at her. "Shall we go?"

"Right. Yes. Of course." I smiled stiffly, following her out into the offices lobby, then into the main lobby.

I glanced around for Alfred.

"I should inform Mr. Hendricks that the sale is finalized," my Aunt said.

I spotted Alfred. He was talking to a confused receptionist. The more he talked, the more confused she looked.

"Diana." My aunt's voice was sharp.

I jumped, looking at her.

She held out her hand. "My iPad, please?"

"Oh!" I quickly pulled the purple-cased iPad out from under my arm, handing it to her. She stopped walking and began tapping on it.

I glanced back at Alfred. He looked insistent. The receptionist was starting to look nervous.

 _Please don't call security._

"Hey, um, Aunt Heather?"

She spared me a glance.

"Since we're done, um, for today…"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two security guards walk up to Alfred. He turned to them and started talking earnestly.

 _Crap._

"I… uh, may I go?" I looked her in the eye. "There's someone I need to meet up with."

My aunt batted her hand. "Fine. Be safe."

"Yes ma'am."

 _Oh, thank goodness._

"DIANA!"

 _Oh hell._

Before I could even get one step away from my aunt, the giant golden retriever of a young man jogged up to us.

"Hey, Dia!" He came to stop. "Wow, you look snazzy!" He said, probably referring to my blouse and black slacks.

"I'm sorry," my aunt interrupted politely, "but I don't think we're been introduced."

"Oh, hi! I'm Alfred!" He took her hand and shook it a bit harder than necessary.

Aunt Heather laughed lightly, glancing at me with a suspicious look.

"Aunt Heather, this is Alfred Jones. Alfred, this is my Aunt Heather."

"Call me Ms. Sterling, please," My aunt corrected. "And how do you know Diana?"

"Oh, I live with her."

 _Hell, swallow me now._

"He MEANS," I interrupted before my aunt had and aneurism, "that he lives across the hall from my apartment. RIGHT?"

"Oh, yeah. Right! HAHAHA!" Alfred rubbed the back of his head, laughing loudly.

My aunt's polite smile hadn't disappeared, but I could feel the disapproval radiating off her.

"Anyway!" I grabbed Alfred's arm and did my best to drag him away. "We're going to catch a movie with Marcy, so we better get going. Love you. Bye!" I was almost running as I pulled Alfred out the front doors. And I kept going.

Once we were beside the parking garage, I finally pulled to a stop.

"What the hell was that?!" I spun around and glared at Alfred. "I told you not to visit me at work!"

"Woah, dude, calm down."

He didn't seem to grasp how close that was to going horribly wrong.

"Alfred…!" I was coiling to spring a barrage of frustration at him, but his mystified expression made me hesitate. Instead I pressed my hand over my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut until I was sure I could talk without yelling.

"Dude, you ok? You look like you're gonna throw up."

I spared a glance at Alfred, who looked genuinely worried. "I'm fine," I said calmly, doing my best to mean it. I crossed my arms. "So then. What POSSESSED you to visit me at my job when I SPECIFICALLY told you NOT TO?"

"Oh. Well, Marcy said you'd be done by 2. And I wanted to surprise you!" He grinned heroically, if it were possible.

I glared at him murderously. My voice became dangerously sweet. "Alfred. There are GOOD surprises, and then there are BAD surprises…"

"No, that wasn't the surprise!" He jumped in.

"Wonderful."

"Guess what?! We're going to Canada!"

I stared at him blankly. "We're… meeting Matthew for supper?"

"No, dude, we're going to his house for supper! In Ottawa! Although I don't really know why he lives there, I'd think he'd live in Quebec…"

"Oh, sure!" I said dryly. "Let me just grab my suitcase out of my pants pocket…"

"Marcy already packed for you!"

 _Of course she did._

I stared at the concrete a long moment, running through what all needed to happen in the next few days, and if I could afford to ignore them. Satisfied, I looked back up at Alfred.

"Fine, let's go to Canada."

"Hell yes!" He punched the air. "Come on, my car's just over there…" He steered me into the parking garage.

"How long is this trip going to be?"

" 'bout nine hours."

 _Save me._

 **xxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

_Marcy_

I stared out the passenger side window, absorbed in the moving scenery. Matthew seemed a bit nervous, so I decided to let him drive and not bother him. Besides, I had unnecessary research to conduct. I'd googled popular Canadian artists and had made it my goal to listen to the interesting ones before we hit the border. I sighed happily. This past week had been so hectic and wild, in a good way, but still. Having the entire day taken up with driving was beautiful. I loved long car trips.

"You okay?" I just barely heard Matt over the music.

I pulled out an earbud and said, "Couldn't be better," I replied, "You?"

"O-oh, I'm fine," he answered quietly. He looked a little uneasy.

"Hey, if you want, I can drive," I said, "Got my license and stuff."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind driving. It's kind of relaxing."

I smiled, "Agreed. Although, to be honest, when I first started driving, I was a nervous wreck. But my brother was there for me. He teased me a lot, but he never freaked out or tried to act like Dad… It really helped. I kinda miss him." A second later, I realized what I'd said and smiled, "Heh, sorry. I went off on a tangent."

"No, it's okay," Matt said, "I'm just glad you're talking. I thought you might be sick or bored or something."

"I'm not easily bored," I said, "And I don't get car sick."

Matt nodded, looking up at the clouds. It was beginning to snow. "Hope it doesn't get too bad for Al and Dia," he said, "There's supposed to be some snow, but nothing too serious."

Another moment of silence. I was about to put my earbud back in and play another song when Matthew asked, "So, what are you listening to?"

I blushed and chuckled, "Well, it's kinda silly, but I'm listening to a bunch of Canadian bands. I thought it'd be nice to listen to what you listen to." I twirled a strand of red hair around my finger. "It sounds dumb out loud."

"No, no, no," Matt assured, "It's really nice of you. If you want, I could show you some of my favorites."

"Sure," I said, still a little embarrassed. He pulled a cd out of the front seat visor and popped it in. "So this band is called Rush and one of my favorite songs by them is By-Tor and the Snow Dog. It's eight and a half minutes long, is that okay?"

"How far are we from Ottawa?" I asked.

He shrugged, "About three and a half hours."

"Yeah, I think we have enough time." I smiled.

Matthew nodded a 'fair enough' and started the song up. After that, he seemed a bit more relaxed. Other than a quick stop at a drive thru and a passport check, we spent the rest of the ride listening to Canada-the-person's top favorite artists.

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

"…and that's why there's a handful of us that have to get together every week or so and talk about country stuff! It's great, because then I get to share my awesome ideas with the rest of the world! Although they never seem to realize just how great they are."

"I can only imagine," I said with a smile, trying to picture what on earth America-personified's ideas would look like. Probably lots of color.

Alfred hit the steering wheel with his palm. "Dude! I just had an AWESOME idea! You don't HAVE to imagine, you can come!"

I looked at Alfred in surprise. "Really? That's… ok?"

"It is if I say it is!" He cheered.

"But these meetings seem kind of… important. Exclusive."

"Psshhh, Naw! If anyone has a problem with it, they'll have to take it up with ME!" Alfred stuck out his thumb at himself.

"Has any other country ever brought a… civilian… to one of these meetings?"

"Nope! America will be the first! Just like in a lot of other things. Like the moon landing and Walmart!"

"Hmm." I mused a few moments, concerned with just how taboo attending the meeting would be. If I went, it would be with Marcy, and for her benefit mostly. But if it just ended up making a bunch of other nations mad, or even just annoying them, I didn't want Marcy to be in the middle of that. "I don't know, Alfred…" I mumbled.

"What?" He asked too loudly.

My hands tightened and loosened and I stared forward. I didn't want to outright say no. Not if I had to spend another four hours in the car with him. My mind searched for a change of topic. It settled on the moon landing.

It called to mind a country I hadn't met yet.

"Hey Alfred, how come I didn't see Russia at the party?"

Alfred's mood change was sudden and drastic.

"Cuz' there's no way in hell I'd invite that creepy bastard to any party," Alfred growled through his teeth.

 _Alright, then._

"Sorry I asked," I mumbled.

Alfred didn't take notice. "Hey, you know what? I'm STARVING."

"Let's find a McD's then," I said.

The smile he gave me could have lit a forest at midnight.

 **xxxxx**

 _Marcy_

"Marcy," Matt whispered, gently shaking my shoulder.

"Mhn?" I mumbled.

"We're here."

I blinked my bleary eyes and looked out the window to see a large Victorian style two story brick house. I stepped out of the warmth of the car and into the freezing.

"My goodness," I said, tugging my toque to cover my ears, "It's gotta be, like 20 degrees out here."

"Actually, it's negative 6 or so," Matt said.

I turned to look at him in disbelief, then noticed his playful smile.

I narrowed my eyes. "Celsius?"

He nodded, smile growing bigger. I laughed and reached for my and Dia's bags. He beat me to them.

"I got it," he said, "You're my guest, I'll carry your luggage."

"Are you sure I can't help?" I asked.

"Really, it's no trouble," he replied, "You don't have that much and it isn't very heavy."

"Okay," I said. I took a deep breath in, the cold hurting my throat just a bit. The snow was falling heavily now and clinging to everything it touched.

"Let's get inside," Matt said, moving to the door.

"Why?" I teased, "Are you cold?"

"No, but you're lips are turning purple," he replied, "And I've got hot chocolate inside."

"Should've opened with that," I said, jogging a bit to catch up with him. He sat down a bag at the door to get out his keys and unlock the door. I grabbed the bag's handle and gave him a maniacal chuckle.

"Haha, mine now!"

He smiled and shook his head as he pushed open the door. I stepped inside and looked around. To my left were a set of stairs leading to the second floor. In front of me, a was a living room with a three person couch, recliner, and tv. The floor was a dark brownish red wood, but most of it was taken up by a massive shaggy tan rug. On the couch were a few pillows and a…

"Is that a polar bear?" I asked, my voice an octave or two higher than normal.

The bear turned and looked at me. It stood on two legs, walked over, and said, "Who are you?" in a clear, child-like voice.

"Uh, I'm Marcy," I said, still very stunned.

He turned to Matthew, "And who are you?"

"I'm Canada," Matt answered a bit tiredly, then turned to me.

"Marcy, this is Kumashira-,"

"Kumajiro," the bear corrected.

"Right, Kumajiro. Neither of us can remember the other's names."

Confusion overdose led to unquestioned acceptance.

Default emotion: "D'aww" activated.

"Oh my gosh you're really really cute!" I practically squealed, "Can I pet you?"

"Sure!" Kumajiro replied, climbing back onto the couch. I sat down beside him and ran my hand through his soft, snowy white fur. I looked up at Matt who was on his phone. He seemed worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The snowstorm's getting pretty bad," he answered, sitting down beside me. "They're saying it might become a full blown blizzard."

I frowned, "I hope Dia and Al get here first."

He nodded, "I hope so too."

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

"This snow's getting pretty bad," Alfred remarked with a hint of concern.

The sun had set, and his windshield wipers were going at full speed. Still, we could barely see anything ahead of us.

"If this keeps up, we might have to call Matt and tell him we're gonna be late."

"I'll do it," I said, unplugging his iPhone 6 from the auxiliary chord and looking through the contacts. "I'm guessing Canada is 'Brosef'?" I asked a bit dryly.

"Haha, yep!"

I hit the button to call, but then a "no signal" warning appeared.

"Hmm."

"What is it?"

"I think the storm's messing with the cellphone service. There's no signal."

"Well crap," Alfred mused. "Now all we need is a serial killer."

I glanced at him with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Up ahead, a small blur of light broke through the haze. Except…

"Shit!"

A horn blared. The jeep swerved out of the way of the oncoming truck, jolting as it went over the shoulder. Alfred expertly steered it back onto the road, his expression like stone. The jeep then slowed and, much more deliberately, pulled over onto the shoulder and stopped.

"It's officially snowing too hard to drive." Alfred decreed with a frown.

I sighed and settled back into my seat, stuffing my hands into my jacket pockets.

It was going to be a long night.

 **xxxxx**

 _Marcy_

The power went out. Kumajiro and I were in Matt's study, going through books I might like to read, when the lights flickered off.

"Hey, Kuma?" I said, feeling around for his fluffy head. It was pitch black. "You wouldn't happen to have nightvision, would you?"

"Yes," he replied, grabbing my wandering hand and leading me to the door. Before he could open it, Matthew walked in, flashlight pointed right at me.

"Ah," I said flatly, "Bright light. In eyes. Going blind."

"Oh, sorry," Matt said, point the light at the floor, "I didn't think you'd be right at the door, eh?"

"Who are you?" Kuma asked.

"Canada," Matthew replied, picking up the bear and handing me a flashlight. "Let's go back to the living room," he said. I followed him closely, shining the flashlight ahead of him.

"Did Al and Dia make it?" I asked.

Matthew shook his head, "No. I sent Al a text, but it wouldn't go through. Then the power died." He looked worried, almost scared.

I put a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure they're safe. Alfred's excitable but he's not stupid, and Dia is pretty amazing in emergency situations. They probably pulled over and are gonna wait it out. Better yet, they were probably at a gas station and decided to stay inside until it blows over."

That calmed him down a bit, but it only made me think of all the worst possible things were. They could've gotten into a wreck, accidentally driven off a bridge, gotten into a wreck that knocked them off a bridge, hit a moose and fallen off a bridge…

I pushed all of those thoughts away. Whatever was happening, they're probably safe. There's no way any of those bad things could happen. Well, maybe the moose one. Do moose hang out on bridges? During blizzards?

No, stop. Stop thinking bad things, they're fine.

Before I could think up anything else ridiculous, I asked Matt, "So, got any board games?"

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

If I had to listen to "Party in the USA" one more time, I was going to throw Alfred's iPhone through the iced-over window.

I absently watched the snow buzzing by the headlights. It had started piling up against the windshield in small black mounds. I shrunk a bit further into my jacket, praying that the gas gauge was wrong.

"Maybe you should turn down the heater," I suggested over the beginning of "Get this Party Started."

Alfred looked at me like I was crazy. The heat was blasting at full strength, and it still wasn't keeping out all the cold.

"What?"

"We're going to run out of gas," I said, a bit quietly.

"WHAT?" Alfred finally turned down his music.

"LOOK AT THE GAS." I said, perhaps a bit more harshly than I had meant.

Alfred looked at it a second, then looked back at me. "So?"

I growled in frustration. "So why don't you turn down the heater, so it'll last a little longer?"

"It won't make much of a difference at this point."

I looked at Alfred in surprise. He still looked plenty cheerful, despite his ominous words.

I started wrapping my mind around the idea of spending the night in a snow-covered car with no heater. My hands came out, knitting together in front of my mouth. My knees pulled up to my chest, giving my elbows a place to rest. I stared fiercely out into the black, mentally running scenarios.

After about a moment of peace, Alfred spoke up.

"Dude, you alright? You look like you're planning to kill someone! HAHAHA!" He laughed.

Now THAT was an interesting scenario…

I shook my head, letting my hands drop. "Just making sure we can survive the night," I said a bit quietly.

"HAHAHA! Don't worry, dude! Of course we'll survive! The Hero is here, so don't worry about a thing!"

Right as the words left his mouth, the jeep sputtered and died. The steady gust of hot air coming from the vents faded away. The music died. The headlights dimmed, then left us in near-total darkness.

We sat in silence for a moment.

I resisted the very strong temptation to clap.


	3. Chapter 3

_Marcy_

We sat on the floor in the living room, playing chess. Matt had brought a couple battery powered heaters into the room, but it was still kinda cold. Probably only 60 degrees, but I get shivery very easily. So, Matthew asked Kumajiro if he would sit in my lap. I didn't complain when he sat down, immediately warming me.

"Move your knight to-," Kuma said, trying to play for me. This was our fifth game and, while I was slowly getting closer and closer, I hadn't come anywhere near beating him. So Kuma had decided to dictate my every move.

"Ohmigosh, Kuma, please stop," I giggled quietly, "If I'm gonna beat a nation at chess I wanna do it myself. Sorry."

"It's okay," he squeaked, "I'll just help that guy instead."

I smiled, "You're evil."

"I'm Kumajiro."

Silence rang out for a few minutes. Then, Matt sighed.

"Hey, Marcy, are you bored?"

 _That seemed a little random._

"No," I answered, "I'm really having fun."

"That's what I'd say," he said, almost a whisper, "If I were bored."

I frowned. "Why do you think I'm bored?"

"Because you're normally really rambunctious and excited, but right now you're being really quiet and even more polite than normal."

I stared at him for a second, then laughed. "This might come as a shock, but I'm actually very quiet. I've just been so hyped up by everything around me that I got this insane, uncontrollable burst of energy. I mean, sorry if this is rude, you're a nation! A personified nation! I've been researching this crazy theory for years with only one person to back me and I accidentally made this massive breakthrough. That, and my mood tends to mesh with whoever I'm currently around. So like, with America and Prussia, I'll be a little louder, a little bouncier. But with you," I took his rook, "I feel like I can be myself. Like I can let a long pause go on forever and it's not awkward or anything. It's just, nice." I realized I was staring at the chess game rather dreamily. I cleared my throat, "Sorry, I can get a bit preachy sometimes."

Matt looked me in the eyes. It hit me suddenly that his eyes were a soft lavender, almost gray, but with a small spark of color.

"I'm sorry," he said finally, "I shouldn't have judged you on just our first meeting."

"No, that's totally fine," I replied, "You were worried about me and I didn't notice. I should've said something."

Really, though," he said, "I'm really sorry."

"Well, I'm really, really sorry," I said with a grin.

Matthew closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling.

I giggled, "We just had a polite fight."

Once again, silence took hold.

I sighed. "Hey, do you think they're okay?" I asked in a near whisper, "I'm kinda really worried about them."

"Don't worry," Matt said, putting a hand on my knee and smiling reassuringly, "They're safe. I know Alfred's in my country. Call it a nation's sixth sense, eh?"

I nodded, "Okay, thanks Matt."

"You're welcome," he replied, "Check mate."

I scoffed and began resetting the board. "Best six out of eleven?"

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

We sat in darkness, broken only by steady the light of my iPhone on the dash. We'd decided to use mine, so Alfred's phone would still have charge if the signal came back. But if the steadily growling pile of snow on the windshield was any indication, the snowstorm wouldn't be letting up any time soon.

We sat curled up in our seats, watching our breath escape our stinging throats. Alfred's near-permanent smile was gone, replaced with a rather neutral expression. He stared forward absently into the darkness. It seemed even he was trying to conserve energy.

I was pulled up into the seat, as much of me as possible curled into the inner sanctum of my jacket. I let my hair fall haphazardly around my face, it offering some small comfort. My slacks were decidedly not meant for freezing temperatures.

I began musing on just how 'superhuman' the nations were, and what the limits of their strength might be.

Alfred's voice brought me back to the present.

"Man," Alfred mumbled, blowing into his gloved hands.

I hesitated a moment, then sighed softly to myself and pulled my hands from my jacket. "Here..." I took one of his hands and cupped both of mine around it.

"What are you...?" The confusion on his face quickly turned to surprise. "Dude! Your hands are WARM! I can feel that through my gloves!"

"Yeah," I said, fighting a smile. "I'm kind of a space heater."

"Dude, that so cool!" Alfred's face lit up with a huge smile. "That's, like, a superpower!"

"If by 'superpower,'" I said, letting go and taking his other hand, "you mean getting a fever every freaking time you take a nap, then yeah."

"A fever?" He asked, a bit concerned.

"I'm not sick," I assured, letting go of the second hand and pulling my hands back into my jacket. "I just run warmer than most people."

"That is so cool!"

I rolled my eyes, failing to keep back a smile any longer. "I could make a horrible pun right now..."

Alfred laughed anyway, unbuckling his seatbelt. He started shifting around, and the next thing I knew, he was pulling himself into the backseat. I ducked out of his way as best I could, staring at him in bewilderment. He settled into the wide seat behind the driver's spot, putting his back to the car door.

"Come on!" He waved me to join him.

I stared. "What."

"Just... Come on!"

"No!"

"Dude, it's freezing, and you're like, really warm." He held out his hand.

I halted, at a loss.

He sighed. "Just trust me."

His words stumbled around in my head, before settling in my gut. I sighed, giving up. I took his hand and he helped me climb my way into the backseat. But once I got there, instead of letting go, he pulled me towards himself. The next thing I knew, my back was to his chest, and his arm was wrapped tightly around my torso.

I mixture of surprise and fear jolted through me. I grabbed the arm around my waist.

"Alfred, what are you doing?!"

"Getting closer to the space heater," he said, humor in his voice.

"Let me go!"

"No!" The humor was gone.

"Alfred...!" I growled.

"Not until you tell me why you're so mad at me!"

I froze, whipping my head around to look at him, and...

He was angry. Oh hell, he was angry. Not a threatening angry, but still. His blue eyes flashed behind his glasses, giving me a glare just sharp enough to make my heart falter.

It took me a second to even find my voice box, let alone use it. "I'm... not..."

"Then how come you're constantly fighting me, huh?" He snapped. "You're treating me like the enemy!"

"No, I..."

"And nothing I ever do seems to be good enough! I'm doing everything I can think of, man!"

Something inside me snapped.

"SO AM I!" I screamed over him. "You keep RUNNING AROUND LIKE CRAZY and DRAGGING US ALONG like it's NO BIG DEAL. Marcy's off her NUT right now! She's acting crazy! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE CRAZY ONE." I gestured to myself. "But now I'M trying to take care of HER, I have YOUR GOVERNMENT breathing down MY neck, and I don't…" My voice shook. "I don't know what I'm doing! I'm scared out of my mind. I can't…"

My voice failed. I fell silent, I mashing my palm into my cheek to wipe away a tear that had escaped me.

Silence hung heavily.

Alfred's arm released me and fell limply to the side.

"Don't ever tell anyone..." Alfred said, suddenly quiet. "But when we declared independence, I was scared out of my mind."

The air around us grew still. My breath caught in my throat.

Alfred continued. "It was crazy. We were already barely keeping it together, and the fight had me exhausted, and then we tried to kick start a brand new government?" I..." Alfred hesitated. "I honestly thought I was going to die." He sighed, bowing his head. His hair brushed my shoulder. "I almost did."

Heart twisting, I dared to glance back at him.

Alfred's deep blue eyes were miles away, staring distantly down at the seat. His face was stern, his shoulders bowed from the weight of centuries.

I saw a world-weary man that never dared show his face.

Suddenly Alfred's eyes flicked up and met mine, their sparkle back. He smiled widely, expertly masking the heavy emotions he'd been carrying a split-second before. "But it worked out ok. Just like always. I mean," he smiled a bit sheepishly, running his gloved hand through his hair, "I've definitely made some big mistakes... But so far, it's all worked out."

I looked at the now-boy, a warm smile starting to spread across my face.

I was finally starting to understand him.

"WELL ENOUGH OF THAT." Alfred shoved past me, nearly knocking me to the floor and he reached into the front seat. His long arm swiped my phone off the dash. "LET'S PARTY TO SOME MUS-IIIC!"

'Starting to' were the key words there.

"Alfred, give me my phone!" I swatted at him, trying to grab my phone.

"HAHA. Nope!" His arm grabbed me again, pulling me just of the reach of my phone.

"ALFRED!"

"Dude, you better not have a ton of boring music on here…"

"GIVE IT!" I lunged forward, managing to snatch away my phone my some miracle. I curled around it, shielding the screen from Alfred's view as he hovered eagerly over my shoulder. I quickly scrolled through my music, punched one of my favorites, turned the volume all the way up, and hoisted the phone up over my head proudly.

The opening guitar plucks of "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk spat rebelliously through the small speaker.

"DUDE!" Alfred gave me a huge grin.

I grinned back.

Our very loud, very obnoxious singing drifted off into the night.


	4. Chapter 4

_Matthew_

I looked over at the sleeping girl cuddling my polar bear on my couch. Marcy had been talking to Kumamija about her sister and how much she'd love to meet him. She wanted to stay awake until we heard from Al and Dia, but she'd slowly nodded off. Now it was 5 am. I grabbed a warm, fluffy blanket and covered her.

Kuma looked up at me with a drowsy expression. "Who...?" he asked quietly.

I put a finger to my lips, then whispered, "I'm Canada. Think you can keep Marcy company tonight, Kumamaji?"

The bear nodded and snuggled back up, causing Marcy to shift. She wrapped an arm around Kuma's tummy and placed the other hand on his ear.

A wave of realization hit me. Even though she was one of the first humans to hang out with the nations like this, she was still a human. And, one day, one way or another, she'd be gone and things would go back to normal. The thought saddened me. Surely that was why Alfred was rushing them everywhere. He wanted to make sure they could see the world in a way no other human could.

I sighed. This was the burden of a nation, to watch their citizens fade away while they remained strong. The easy thing would be to stop associating with them, to view them as nothing more than numbers on a report. But that would eventually make you cold, distant, and unreliable. So, even though it was heart-breaking every time it ended, nations enjoyed meeting and talking with their people.

And Alfred was the worst about it. He always tried to make it last longer, to keep people for just a few more years. I frowned, remembering the slump he got in when Amelia died. I'd never seen him so down, so silent. After a week or two, he was back to normal, but it took years for all the sadness to fade out of his eyes.

I shook my head. It was way too late for these thoughts. With one last glance at Marcy, I turned and walked to my room.

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

A buzz broke through to my consciousness. I cracked open a bleary eye.

Suddenly my bed shifted under me...! Wait. No, that would be Alfred.

Trying not to move much, Alfred reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The light from the screen was near-blinding. I closed my eyes.

There were a few clicks, then a pause. "Hehe," Alfred chuckled quietly, "yeah, no kidding, Bro." A sudden flood of little clicks told me Alfred was texting him back.

"Just call him," I mumbled, face half-mashed into his bomber jacket.

Alfred paused. "HAHA, right!" He replied, no longer trying to be quiet.

I heard the phone ringing as I started trying to sit up. Alfred had other ideas, though, and easily pulled me right back down.

"It's still freezing, and you're like, a giant HotHands packet."

I stared into the darkness, annoyed but smiling.

"Alfred?" I heard Matthew's voice from the phone. Alfred had his volume up way too loud.

"Yo, Mattie! You guys okay?"

"Wha, um, yeah, but Al, are you guys okay? Where are you?"

"Heck if I know, dude," he replied, "You tell me."

There was silence for a brief moment, then Matthew said, "I think… You're a couple hours out, near Spencerville. Are you two still in your car?"

"HAHAHA, yeah, but don't worry. Turns out, Dia is actually like, a superhero! She has the power to be really warm even though it's negative stupid degrees outside!"

I rolled my eyes, still smiling.

"Okay, stay there, I'm gonna call Spencerville's police department and let them know where you are. Marcy and I will meet you there."

"K, see you soon, bro."

"Bye, Al." Click.

"HAHA!" Alfred cheered. "What'd I tell ya? Nothing to worry about with a Hero around!"

"Says the guy being rescued by the _Canadian_ police." I grinned.

Alfred fell silent.

I shifted to where I could see his face, giving him a mischievous smile. "Don't worry, you'll just kick his ass next time you guys play hockey."

Alfred exploded into laughter. "HAHAHA, HELL YEAH!"

I would be surprised if Matthew couldn't hear him two hours away.

 **xxxxx**

 _Marcy_

"Diana!" I shouted, maybe a bit too loudly for inside a police department.

Dia and Alfred were sitting on a couch in the officers' break room, Dia leaning her back against Alfred's shoulder and both of them wrapped in blankets. They both also had their hands cupped around a steaming hot cup of something and seemed in good spirits. Diana looked up when she heard my voice, setting down her drink and getting up as I walked over. We wrapped each other in a warm hug.

"Sorry it took us so long," Matthew said, "I had to put chains on my tires."

Alfred jumped up, clapping his brother on the back. "No prob, bro! Safety's important and junk. Last thing we need is you two having a wreck!"

I pulled Dia aside a bit. "Did Alfred drive you completely crazy?" I asked her quietly.

"Yup," she replied with a smile. "But I survived."

I looked at her in surprise. "Well that's… good…?" I said carefully.

Diana chuckled. "Seriously, Marcy. I'm fine." She gave me a warm, genuine smile.

I marveled at her good mood, considering she'd been trapped in a car with Alfred for over 12 hours.

"Yo, Marcy!" Alfred called, "Did you know Dia's a freaking superhero?"

"No…" Diana moaned under her breath, trying to cover her face with her hand.

I looked between Alfred and Diana, a huge smile spreading across my face. "Now this I gotta hear!" I looked at Dia, excited.

Dia glanced at me from behind her hand. "You know, _my_ version would actually be the truth."

"Nah," I declined, "I'd rather hear whatever ridiculous warped version of the story Al has."

Dia laughed.

I jogged up to Alfred, who was heading for the front doors.

"So what's this superhero story…?"

 **xxxxx**

 _Diana_

"Hey, Dia."

Matthew walked up to me as I waited at the front desk to collect our things.

"Hey," I said, "How was Marcy?"

Matthew looked at the floor. "Fine. I thought I was boring her, but she claimed to have had the best time."

"Did you guys play either chess or checkers? Did she find a bunch of books? Do you have a cat?"

"Yes, yes, and something like that."

An officer walked up a placed a box of our belongings on the desk. I began collecting them.

"Then she had a blast," I confirmed. "She's actually pretty quiet. Guess her biggest dream coming true shocked her out of her shell. You should see her try to talk to a stranger. Well, one that's not a nation…" I stuffed my wallet and passport into my jacket pocket.

"What about you and Alfred?" Matt asked even quieter.

I thought out my answer carefully, then nodded. "We're good."

"Good," Matt said, looking relieved. "You have no idea how much it's been driving him crazy, thinking you were mad at him."

I felt a small pang of guilt.

"Dia?" Marcy said, walking back to me, "Al said you can light things on fire with your touch."

I snorted, a big smile breaking out across my face. I collected myself and looked at Marcy with a serious and proud expression.

"I can, in fact. And I can also breathe fire, if I get angry enough."

Marcy laughed loudly. Matthew looked at me in surprise, then smiled.

"Hey!" Alfred called to us. He was standing at the doors. "Are we gonna go to Matt's house and eat all his pancakes or what?!"

"You can't eat all my pancakes, Al," Matt said, walking quickly to his brother.

I smiled, watching the two nations act like actual brothers. The world was full of mysteries.

"How about you, Diana?" Marcy wrapped her arm around mine with a grin. "Want some pancakes?"

"I'm up for anything right about now," I said, half to myself.

Marcy laughed, pulling me towards the door. "Great! Then I can't wait to introduce you to Mr. Kumajiro! He's a talking polar bear!"

"Wat."

 **Xxxxx**

 **Note: Amelia is referring to Amelia Earhart**

 **Hey guys. Dia here. Just a heads up, this is gonna be the last post for a little while. We're still writing, but it'll take a little time before we have something substantial enough to post. We might show up again around Christmas. Thanks so much for your patience (we REALLY hate doing this).**

 **HOWEVER. We ARE starting up an ask-blog on Tumblr to make up for the lack of posts:**

 **username: ask-diaandmarcy  
Blog name: Professional Nation-sitters**

 **Please! Ask us anything about what it's like living with Alfred. Or the other nations, for that matter. (We need some way to vent.)**

 **Until next time.**


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